The Dark is Rising
by HawkRider
Summary: When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back, three from the circle, three from the track... WARNING! Yaoi and Yuri. Don't like, don't read.
1. Prolouge

**Here is the start of the story know, as in Chapter 1. By the way, this one will probably be a bit boring. Sorry! I'm also sorry for the confusing note at the end of the last chapter.**

**By the way, three other characters not found in Radiant Garden (Hollow Bastion) in the game will appear. *cough*internet*cough* cookie for the first person who guesses them correctly. And now it, begins...continues...whatever.**

* * *

><p><span>Riku's POV<span>

It had been a busy day. Sora was late, as usual, and Tidus and Selphie were too busy flirting to do much work so we got about as much done as we usually did today. We finished the body of the raft and had made the raft. All that was needed now were a sail and supplies. We're going to take a month's worth of food that would keep well. We don't know how far we are from land after all. We're also not planning on telling our parents. We'll just leave them a message before we go. It should be a fun trip.

"Hey Riku!" Sora shouted.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think about some sheets for the sail?"

"You've had a good idea for once!" I remarked.

"Why than...HEY!" and so the chase began. None of us could really wait to get off of this island, called Destiny Isle by the residents. No-one really liked it much as too much hard work was needed. There was also a high risk of sunburn and heat stroke.

Money wasn't going to be a problem when we got to the mainland. We found a large chest on the ship a few years ago filled to the brim with munny. We hid it in a cave near where we were sitting. Our parents had told us a lot about the mainland, including about munny. We needed it to buy things from shops and rent rooms in places to spend the night. They said how much it cost varied though.

* * *

><p><span>Kairi's POV<span>

We agreed to set sail on the Sunday before dawn. We had no idea how long the journey would take but it we prepared for the worst. The raft was large enough for us all and had a cabin of sorts for me and Selphie.

Selphie is pretty. I actually have a crush on her. This lead me to find out that she's bi and loves simple food and drawing. I actually invited her over once which was when I found out she was dating Tidus. We'd had a simple meal that I'd cooked myself and I'd lined up her favorite activity when she said something that nearly broke my heart. "If I didn't love Tidus, I'd so be forming a crush on you now." I was crying all the way through writing a story but not because it was a tragedy. I didn't speak to her for 3 whole weeks afterwards. Whenever she tried I quickly made up an excuse and went. That is until I heard her crying in the cave because of me ignoring her. That's when I told her. Then I told her I didn't mind her going out with Tidus so long as we could stay friends. She agreed and then it was like nothing ever happened.

"Hey Kairi!" That was Selphie now. "What do you think?"

"Of what?"

"Us being alone on a raft for who knows how long with four boys!" she giggled.

"Annoying."

"You're no fun." she replied, pulling her grumpy face. I laughed. "What?"

"Sorry I just find that face hilarious. By the way, if anyone needs me, I'll be in the cave."

The cave was really a hidden alcove in the rock but it was large enough to fit all of us in together with plenty of space to spare. It was always cool inside. We used the many small stones lying about to draw on the walls and the large rock in the center. Fun times...I'll miss those days.

Anyway, it was three days of food collecting then it was off to the open sea.

Four days later, we set off. I decided to tell Sora about how he couldn't really blackmail me by telling Selphie that I love her. "Hey Sora! I've got something to tell you."

"Yes?"

My voice dropped to a whisper. "You never could blackmail me with the fact I love Selphie. She knows."

"Oh, that wasn't what I was going to use. It was going to be that picture you took of her semi-naked body."

"Ahh. Anyway, it's time to set off."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry about there not being any of the other group. I wanted this group to set sail so I could tell you this. At the point at which this ends, the track, as I've decided to call them, are still in the desert. In the prologue, Roxas' POV is 1 week before arriving but this ends 3 weeks before the circle arrive. In the next chapter though, they'll both have reached the first town. Not Radiant Garden just yet though.<strong>


	2. Preparations

**Here is the start of the story know, as in Chapter 1. By the way, this one will probably be a bit boring. Sorry! I'm also sorry for the confusing note at the end of the last chapter.**

**By the way, three other characters not found in Radiant Garden (Hollow Bastion) in the game will appear. *cough*internet*cough* cookie for the first person who guesses them correctly. And now it, begins...continues...whatever.**

* * *

><p><span>Riku's POV<span>

It had been a busy day. Sora was late, as usual, and Tidus and Selphie were too busy flirting to do much work so we got about as much done as we usually did today. We finished the body of the raft and had made the raft. All that was needed now were a sail and supplies. We're going to take a month's worth of food that would keep well. We don't know how far we are from land after all. We're also not planning on telling our parents. We'll just leave them a message before we go. It should be a fun trip.

"Hey Riku!" Sora shouted.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think about some sheets for the sail?"

"You've had a good idea for once!" I remarked.

"Why than...HEY!" and so the chase began. None of us could really wait to get off of this island, called Destiny Isle by the residents. No-one really liked it much as too much hard work was needed. There was also a high risk of sunburn and heat stroke.

Money wasn't going to be a problem when we got to the mainland. We found a large chest on the ship a few years ago filled to the brim with munny. We hid it in a cave near where we were sitting. Our parents had told us a lot about the mainland, including about munny. We needed it to buy things from shops and rent rooms in places to spend the night. They said how much it cost varied though.

* * *

><p><span>Kairi's POV<span>

We agreed to set sail on the Sunday before dawn. We had no idea how long the journey would take but it we prepared for the worst. The raft was large enough for us all and had a cabin of sorts for me and Selphie.

Selphie is pretty. I actually have a crush on her. This lead me to find out that she's bi and loves simple food and drawing. I actually invited her over once which was when I found out she was dating Tidus. We'd had a simple meal that I'd cooked myself and I'd lined up her favorite activity when she said something that nearly broke my heart. "If I didn't love Tidus, I'd so be forming a crush on you now." I was crying all the way through writing a story but not because it was a tragedy. I didn't speak to her for 3 whole weeks afterwards. Whenever she tried I quickly made up an excuse and went. That is until I heard her crying in the cave because of me ignoring her. That's when I told her. Then I told her I didn't mind her going out with Tidus so long as we could stay friends. She agreed and then it was like nothing ever happened.

"Hey Kairi!" That was Selphie now. "What do you think?"

"Of what?"

"Us being alone on a raft for who knows how long with four boys!" she giggled.

"Annoying."

"You're no fun." she replied, pulling her grumpy face. I laughed. "What?"

"Sorry I just find that face hilarious. By the way, if anyone needs me, I'll be in the cave."

The cave was really a hidden alcove in the rock but it was large enough to fit all of us in together with plenty of space to spare. It was always cool inside. We used the many small stones lying about to draw on the walls and the large rock in the center. Fun times...I'll miss those days.

Anyway, it was three days of food collecting then it was off to the open sea.

Four days later, we set off. I decided to tell Sora about how he couldn't really blackmail me by telling Selphie that I love her. "Hey Sora! I've got something to tell you."

"Yes?"

My voice dropped to a whisper. "You never could blackmail me with the fact I love Selphie. She knows."

"Oh, that wasn't what I was going to use. It was going to be that picture you took of her semi-naked body."

"Ahh. Anyway, it's time to set off."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry about there not being any of the other group. I wanted this group to set sail so I could tell you this. At the point at which this ends, the track, as I've decided to call them, are still in the desert. In the prologue, Roxas' POV is 1 week before arriving but this ends 3 weeks before the circle arrive. In the next chapter though, they'll both have reached the first town. Not Radiant Garden just yet though.<strong>


	3. The Mysterious Raft

**Chapter 2 is now here. So you know, the Track are a day away from Traverse Town and the Circle is a day off landing. I won't say where though. The story is entirely in the correct time now. Meaning it's the same day for both groups. **

**BTW, cookies go to no one for guessing the characters correctly. Nobody guessed.**

**Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

><p><span>Axel's POV<span>

Those two are so annoying. Problem is that they're both so cute. Plus I need them. I wouldn't have gotten this far or survived so long without them. I'll never admit it to them though. They'll just laugh at me if I do. But still, drenching me is taking it a little too far.

"Whose idea was it?" They both pointed at each other. "Fine then, I guess I'll have to torture you both then."

"It was me!" Xion said, as I thought she would. She always defends Roxas for some reason. Anyway, it was time for her punishment. I jumped on top of her and started to tickle her into submission.

* * *

><p><span>Roxas's POV<span>

I shook my head as I watched Axel's antics. He was so strange sometimes.

Whilst the other two were fighting, I decided to pack away. The only things I kept out were our three traveling cloaks. They were black, with zips and hoods and were incredibly comfortable. They were also very anonymous. Somehow, when we were in a crowd we were never noticed. They were very helpful. Everything else was in the bags, Axel's the heaviest, Xion's the lightest.

Five minutes later, when Axel's "torture" was complete, we set off for Traverse Town. According to Xion, we should be there by sunset. And we would finally be able to sleep in a bed. That was something I was really looking forwards to. It would be heaven to finally get to lie on something soft. Other than moss that is.

* * *

><p><span>Xion's POV<span>

We arrived in Traverse Town right when I predicted we would. I have an impeccable knack for timing things well. Roxas has a great sense of direction too which makes us a formidable team for this kind of work. Axel was mostly there as a way to keep sane. Anyway, it was my turn to rent a room for the night. I found on that was very good and also cheap. I got the guys and we settled down for the night.

The next morning, I woke up to find Roxas reading a newspaper. I could see the front cover from where I was. "Mystery Kids in Twilight Town."

"What's that about Roxas?"

He jumped. He obviously hadn't realized I'd woken up. "What, that story on the cover? Six kids were found of a raft last night. All of them were around our age and had fainted from hunger. They're recovering but should be fine by lunch time. Two were girls and the others were boys. Have a read if you want to know more. It was quite an interesting story."

"Really? Pass it here." He passed it over and I read. They had been found by a fisherman who had then towed them on shore. None of them had been identified or even recognized. They were all malnourished so had obviously been at sea for a long time or came from a poor country. "Poor guys." I looked at the picture. One of them immediately caught my eye. He looked Caribbean but it was hard to be sure. The was also A boy with brown hair in a similar style to Roxas', a silverette boy, and boy with darkish blond hair and the girls had red and brown hair. That's all I could really tell since the picture wasn't very clear.

"I like the look of that brunette with the spiky hair. He looks kind of cute."

"I'm glad I know your gay, otherwise I would be so confused as to why you said that."

"I can't believe I actually said that. By the way, thanks for taking that tickle attack for me."

"Anything for you, my friend."

Axel groaned. He was waking up. "Let's not mention this for two minutes after we wakes up. I bet 500 munny that he falls for the silverette." Axel was also gay but he refused to believe it. We both knew though. I was, in fact, the only straight person in our group. Just as we finished talking, Axel woke.

"Hey guys."

"Good morning sleepy head."

"Hey!"

"Hi to you to."

"Grr." After the remainder of the two minutes had passed, I gave him the paper.

"Read that story. It's interesting." He read it through twice before I asked him the question. "What do you think them."

"Well, the girls look nice, and the silverette is cute...wait, did I just say that?"

"Say what?" Roxas said, grinning at me. I'd just lost 500 munny.

"Well, the boys all look ok but annoying."

"If that's your opinion, we respect it." I said this whilst trying to stifle a giggle. "Anyway, let's get breakfast and prepare to leave. We also need supplies. I'll make a list now."

* * *

><p><span>Sora's POV<span>

Where am I? What's this soft thing beneath me? Were is everyone else? And why is it so dark?

"Hey! One of them is waking up!"

* * *

><p><strong>That's the end of that chapter. They'll finally meet in a couple of chapters. Bet you can't guess what will happen then. Other than couples being formed. <strong>

**Anyway, this is is for now. And please review. It makes my world go round.**


	4. Waking

**Here's chapter 3. I hope you like. And no, they don't meet in this chapter. That comes soon though. Then you find out any couples that will appear, though someone already knows a couple of them. **

**Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span>Sora's POV<span>

Where am I? What's this soft thing beneath me? Were is everyone else? And why is it so dark?

"Hey! One of them is waking up! Are you ok?"

"Uh, what?"

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah." my stomach rumbled. "Just a bit hungry."

"Ok, I'll get you some food."

"The others are waking up as well!"

"Uhh. Hello?"

"Where are we?"

I couldn't tell who anyone talking was. I could still only hear, not see yet. My eyesight was slowly returning but it wasn't fully back yet. Then I heard Riku beside me. "What's going on?"

"You were found on a raft by some fisherman. The towed you onshore and we brought you here. We have some questions for you when your done eating. By the way, my name's Olette." said the same mysterious voice. "So you know, I'm single"

"If you want to get into his pants, you'll have to really be a man. Same with me. And no, we are not together."

"Oh..." I could tell Olette was disappointed. "Sorry."

"It's fine." I replied. "By the way, where are we?"

"The Twilight Town hospital. St. Edward's hospital."

"Where's Twilight Town?" I heard Olette gasp. "It's just we haven't been here before."

"Wait! You've never been to Twilight Town?"

"Where we lived, it was kind of hard to go anywhere. By the way, I thought the questions were for after we'd had something to eat." Riku replied.

"Oops, sorry! I'll go help with the food grabbing now."

"See you soon."

They brought up food we didn't recognize, but it looked and smelled delicious so we ate up. Selphie surprised everyone by eating the most, closely followed by Kairi. We were all shocked. We didn't realize they had such big appetites. "Who are you and what have you done with Selphie and Kairi?" I asked innocently, causing bursts of laughter from around the room.

"Umm...sorry but we still haven't been able to locate your parents."

"Don't bother. Do you know that shipwreck twenty years ago?"

"Yes."

"Well, our parents were on that ship. We grew up on a volcanic island and were born three years after we arrived. We were completely cut off from the mainland so they'll never be able to find us. They know we've gone but they don't know where we are or what has happened." Riku's story made us all start to cry, even us six who had been there for most of the journey.

"Poor you..." Olette whispered. "Oh, by the way, you should be out of here by lunch. My shift ends then so I'll show you around."

The rest of the morning dragged by, and so did the questions. It started off with things like "what's your name?" "how old are you?" and "where are you from?" We were obviously unable to answer the last question but some others were more of a problem. These were things like "do you have any existing medical conditions?" and "is there anyone who can provide evidence of your ID?" By the end of the questioning, we were tired and bored, a deadly combination. The a different nurse came in and told us we were free to go.

We met Olette at the entrance. She was wearing an orange dress and had lost the nurse coat and hat. "Come on!" she shouted energetically. She was very bubbly and energetic. It was a little annoying to be honest. Still, it was very entertaining, especially when she ran into a giant post. Wait, when did I become a sadist? I don't to be a sadist!

Anyway, she was giving us a tour of the entire town, the plaza, the station, the Sandlot and she finished off with an alley. Then she took us into a corner under the tracks for some reason. We waited there for a minute before the curtain was pulled back and two teens walked in. "Hey! Who are these people Olette?"

"Um, we can talk you know. And hear. So why don't you just ask us?"

"Sorry about him. He's never been polite around people he doesn't know or like." said the shorter one.

"It's fine." Riku replied.

"Hayner, say sorry." Olette glared at him. She obviously was the most sensible of the three. "Say it! Or else you don't you don't get any sea salt ice cream."

"What's that?" I asked. Hayner and the other boy stared at me in disbelief. Olette just giggled.

"I'll get us all some for us all."

* * *

><p><span>Riku's POV<span>

Five minutes later, we'd all been introduced and Olette had returned. They now looked at us in shock instead of disbelief. The shorter one we found was called Pence. Both were addicted to sea salt ice cream and Hayner had a crush on Olette. And they knew what happened to us. Thus the shock. And the ice cream was delicious as well. I think I might end up addicted to this.

"It's brilliant isn't it?"

"Yep. I'm glad we got to try it. It's brilliant. Thanks for getting these for us." I smiled and Kairi gasped.

"Riku! I thought you couldn't smile!" Everyone laughed and I blushed.

"That's an interesting shade of red Riku." I turned an even darker shade and everyone laughed even more. Even I couldn't help but giggle a little. Then they laughed at that as well and so the cycle continued for a full five minutes. Then they finally calmed down. I was still a little red though. Great. They're going to be teasing me about this forever.

When we finished, we wandered around town for a while buying some supplies for the journey we were going to take. Yes. We were continuing the journey, despite nearly dying on our last trip, thanks to Sora and Tidus. They both ate more than we thought they would, even them. This time, we bought more filling food, as well as bags, munny pouches, tents and sleeping bags. We also found a place to sleep for the night. All this barely made a dent in our funds.

At the end of the day, Hayner, Pence and Olette took us to their favorite place in the town. It was on top of the station clock tower. The view was beautiful. We bought everyone some sea salt ice cream to eat as we enjoyed the sunset.

"Do you want to know why this town's called Twilight Town?"

"Sure."

"It's the town in which you get the most beautiful sunsets in the country. They're fantastic."

"Our island had a nice one too. We often sat on the beach and gazed out to sea right as the sun went down. It was so romantic."

"Yeah, I remember you tried to kiss me then once Sora." I teased.

"Wait, didn't you tell me you two weren't together?"

"Yeah, I had a crush on him about two years ago." Sora told them.

"Yeah, he couldn't stop staring at me back then."

"You couldn't either!" he pouted.

"Touché." Selphie said.

"Hey!"

"You're blushing again!"

"Oy!"

Everyone laughed at me. How could I have blushed twice in three hours? It wasn't at all like me.

"Well, we should get some sleep." Tidus said.

"Yeah, lets get some sleep, ya" replied Wakka.

So we went back to were staying and packed our bags before going to sleep.

The next morning, we met up with Hayner, Pence and Olette. They pointed out a good route to take. It would end up in a place called Radiant Garden. It sounded like a beautiful place. So we set off along the path to a brand new place.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, there's that chapter done. Oh, and Hayner, Pence and Olette are not the other three characters I mentioned. They'll appear next chapter and then the two groups will meet the chapter after that. But no more spoilers (if you can count those as them) so you can still enjoy the rest of the story. <strong>

**Well, bye!**


	5. Meeting and Memories

**Well, here's the next chapter of the story. I hope you're all still enjoying this story. And sorry for taking so long to update! I've been dragged into helping to write and preform in a small film. **

**And yes, I know, they've still not yet met. But they will, next chapter. This chapter will have the characters that nobody has guessed! You'll finally find out who they are in this chapter.**

**Oh, and italics are flashbacks and italics in brackets are flashbacks as well, but those are flash backs inside flashbacks. I promise you that they won't happen often. Oh, and I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters. Same applies to every chapter, even if I've not mentioned so in that chapter. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span>Roxas' POV<span>

We were on the last leg of our journey. At last. After all these years, we were soon to end our travels. I think I'm going to miss it. In five days we'll be at Radiant Garden and settle down. I would have preferred to have carried on with our journey, but unfortunately I was over ruled. That night really was a night for the record books, Axel and Xion had actually agreed on something! I was still in shock from that happening.

Suddenly, there was a noise in the bushes ahead of us. I saw a flash of pink before someone tackled me to the ground. "ROXAS!" I heard Xion yell as Axel charged at the person on my back. He flew off my back and the hood on his cloak flew off. It was a man, with bright pink hair.

"Marluxia, when are you going to stop doing that?" a blond said as she emerged from the bushes. She was staring at him in a way that suggested she was throwing mental daggers at him. It was actually quite amusing. Then another figure with slate blue hair came out of the bushes.

"Hello Roxas. Sorry about Marluxia there. He's a little strange."

"OY!"

"Hey Roxas, aren't you going to introduce us?" That was Axel.

"Oops, this is..." I started before he interrupted.

"I'm Zexion, That's Larxene and finally, the guy with the pink hair is Marluxia."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Xion."

"And I'm Axel, got it memorized?"

"And I thought Marluxia was strange..." Zexion thought.

"OY!" came two voices.

"Anyway, Zex, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"We're just heading off to Radiant Garden. We've decided to settle down there, as opposed to traveling the world like this."

"We're actually doing the same."

"I've got a question. When did you two meet?" Xion said.

"It was that time I was missing for those two weeks in Wonderland. Don't you remember it?"

* * *

><p><span>Xion's POV<span>

How could I have forgotten. That was one of the most annoying days of my life.

"_Roxas. Where are you going."_

"_I'm just going for a walk. Don't worry. I'll be back by midday. So don't worry about it." Roxas left and Axel woke up. _

"_Where's Roxas gone?" he asked after a minute. _

"_I knew it would take you a while to notice. He's gone for a walk. He should be back soon."_

"_Uh oh, that's a problem..."_

"_Why."_

"_Well, school's already started in this town and here they are really strict about skipping school, so if Roxas get's caught..."_

"_He'll be sent into school. So what's the big problem?"_

"_They have corporal punishment here, and skipping school is one of the worst things someone can do so..."_

"_WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US SOONER?"_

"_I didn't think it would be too much of a problem...besides, he might not have been caught...what time did he say he'll be back?"_

"_Midday, why?"_

"_In one hour they comb the streets looking for truants. We have to find him before then. But if we don't find him in fifty minutes, we're heading back."_

_"How do you know so much about this town?"  
><em>

"_Overly detailed travel book I bought in Neverland."_

_We searched the town until time went out. I thought I saw him at one point, but it was a man with a similar hair style. Axel then forced me back to our hotel room. We hadn't found him anywhere. Then a thought struck me._

"_Hey Axel, could you pass me that guide book of your's? I want to check something." He passed me the book. I opened it to the page about Wonderland, then found in the general information section something I really didn't want to hear. "Poor Roxas." I muttered._

_About two weeks later, Roxas returned. He looked shattered and in a lot of pain. I asked Axel if he would leave us for a bit. Thankfully, he obliged. "What happened?"_

"_I don't really want to talk about it. On the plus side, I managed to get us all an out of towner's pass. It means we don't have to go there, luckily."_

"_If it's any consolation, they go harder on people like you in schools."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Homosexuals. They're very homophobic in the school in this town."_

"_How do you know?"_

"_An overdetailed guide book of Axel's." There was a knock at the door._

"_I hope it's fine for me to come in. 'Cause I'm gonna do so anyway, so prepare."_

And then, there was nothing else significant happened to me that day.

* * *

><p><span>Roxas' POV<span>

I thought back to that day.

_I left Xion and Axel to go for a walk. I was restless and the sun was shining, so who could blame me. After about an hour, I sat down it the park. It was then I noticed that it was empty. I closed my eyes and was about to go to sleep when I suddenly heard someone shout "HERE'S ONE!" The next thing I knew, I was being carried over to a car. _

"_What's going on?" I asked._

"_As if you don't know." one of the people carrying me said._

"_I really don't know. I'm not from around here."_

"_That's what they all say."_

_Five minutes later, the car pulled up in front of a large, intimidating building. I was forced forwards through the doors and into a reception area. I realized then it was a school. And such a familiar school as well..._

_(Doors crashing open. People screaming. A hand reached out towards me. A loud noise.) This flashback gave me a headache. Luckily, I was lead to a seat. Then, all but one of the men left, the other waiting for something._

_A man walked round the corner, not at all looking surprised to see them. The man who had caught me spoke up. "Found him dozing off in the park, sir. I'll be going now." He turned and left._

"_Come with me." the man said, his voice dull and flat. He lead me to a room across the corridor. There was no way to tell what was behind it, it was a solid block of metal. Inside, there were two chairs, a pile of cards and a box next to one. The only light came from two bright bulbs in the ceiling. The man sat down on that chair, then gestured to the other chair, motioning for me to sit down. I obliged and he began to talk. "Ok, I just want you to do some things for me. First thing is for you to say the first thing that comes into your head when I say something. Cat."_

"_Kitten."_

"_Dog."_

"_Puppy." This carried on for several minutes. The last word he said was "homophobia" to which I replied "stereotyping." He shook his head. Then he picked up the cards._

"_For this, just say the first thing that comes into your head." This lasted five minutes. When we finished, he shook his head. "You've been corrupted." He said. "We need to rescue you, as well as punish you for trying to skip school."_

_I was confused. What did he mean by that I was "corrupted" and needed rescuing. He reached into the box. "I think we'll do the usual, fifty. Twenty to rescue and thirty to punish. Turn around." I did so, then felt a sudden sharp pain sprout on my back. Then it came again and again and again, fifty times in total. By that time, I was bleeding and had a broken rib. I had had one before, so I knew what it felt like. However, that wasn't what stopped me from getting up. The sound of the cane had brought back memories I didn't want, of that day. _

_(Screams. Explosions. Red everywhere. Sirens. An arm around my thought. Another explosion. Something falling at my feet. Black. Voices...)_

_The memories had gone, but the pain hadn't. And I knew the memories would come back._

_The man held out his hands. In his right hand was a gummi bear, in the other, a lollipop. "Choose." I'm gluten intolerant so I went for the lollipop. He shook his head. "Another ten it is." He forced me down, not that he needed to, and bringing the cane down again and again and again._

_(Screams. Explosions. Red everywhere. Sirens. An arm around my thoat. Another explosion. Something falling at my feet. Black. Voices...)_

_The memories had gone, but the pain hadn't. And I knew the memories would come back._

_The man held out his hands. In his right hand was a gummi bear, in the other, a lollipop. "Choose." I went for the lollipop. He shook his head. "Another ten it is." He forced me back down, not that he needed to, and bringing the cane down again and again and again._

_(Screams. Explosions. Red everywhere. Sirens. An arm around my thoat. Another explosion. Something falling at my feet. Black. Voices...)_

_The memories had gone, but the pain hadn't. And I knew the memories would come back._

_The man held out his hands. In his right hand was a gummi bear, in the other, a lollipop. "Choose. Choose and eat the gummi bear, or continue suffering."_

"_I can't eat it." I pleaded weakly. _

"_Why not?"_

"_I'm gluten intolerant." He burst into laughter._

"_Very funny. Another ten, then you have to eat it." He forced me back onto my back, bringing the cane down again and again and again. _

_(Screams. Explosions. Red everywhere. Sirens. An arm around my thoat. Another explosion. Something falling at my feet. Black. Voices...)_

_The memories had gone, but the pain hadn't. And I knew the memories would come back._

_Then I felt strong hands force my mouth open and push something in. Then the hands made me chew it until I was forced to swallow. I then collapsed to the ground, shaking. Pain rushed through my body, making me arch my back, causing more pain to rush through my body. More ribs must have been broken. I screamed. Loudly. Then I fainted, but not before I heard the door open and someone shout the word 'Zexion'._

* * *

><p><em>I woke in pain about five hours later. All I could see was a blue of slate blue on a white background, before blacking out again for another hour.<em>

_When I woke up, I heard someone talking. I couldn't quite make out what they were saying though. Just the odd word or so. "...happened...broken...scared...know..." It was impossible to decipher what was being said. I groaned from annoyance, then from pain as I tried to sit up. Both figures ran to my side. "...awake...happened..." was all I heard. My hearing was still a little off. I slipped quietly back into unconsciousness._

_The next time I woke up, I saw the blue blur again. I blinked and realized it was hair. The person it belonged to asleep on a chair. A doctor came in quietly, walking over to my bed. That's when he saw that my eyes were open. He shouted out."He's awake!" and suddenly, four nurses came into the room. The blue haired person also woke up. He looked shocked for a second but then turned his expression to one of mild curiosity. "It's a miracle you're alive right now. If you weren't so fit, you'd have died days ago. The memory came back almost instantly. The cane. The pain. The blood. At that exact moment, I just wanted to die. But then other memories showed up. His mother's face. Xion and Axel. All reasons to stay alive, to stay with his friends and not join his mother and brother. He would not die. It's not what they would have wanted, like back then..._

_(People moving. His father there. Walking slowly towards him. An explosion. Someone fell, red flowing outwards. More screaming. His father picking him up by the neck. His brother reaching out for him. Another explosion. His brother fell. Red spilled out of him. His father laughed. "Only us left." he said. Sirens approached. Darkness. Silence. Voices, telling him he would be fine.)_

_The nurses were panicking. I was tossing about screaming the word "no" over and over again. The blue haired person, I could now see it was a boy, came over slowly and started to stroke my forehead, humming gently. Gradually, I stopped tossing about so much. Everyone calmed. "Who are you?" I asked._

"_I'm Zexion. Who are you?"_

"_I'm Roxa..." I passed out._

_I came to a week later. My back was much better than it was before. "You should be out of here in a week. Your back still needs looking after. Where are you're family? I can't find them anywhere." came a familiar voice._

"_My mother and brother are dead, killed by my father who's now in prison for life."_

"_Sorry..."_

_"It's fine Zexion. Really."_

"_If you say so..."_

_The rest of the time I spent in the hospital was uneventful, save for one night when I woke up screaming, actually scaring the nurse on night duty. When I was released, I found my way back to our hotel, finding them both in there. Xion managed to tell me about how flawed the schooling system was in Wonderland and I showed her the out of towners passes I got when they found out about my parents and brother. Then Axel managed to make us both laugh when he failed to remember ours was a pull door, not a push door. _

_About a week later, we left, me with the lightest pack for once due to my back._

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the flashback chapter. In didn't expect Roxas' would be so long, or depressing for that matter. <strong>

**The flashback was to help us understand Roxas some more, as well as Zexion. Anyway, it is important as this will be coming up again, most likely. Oh, and so you know, I hated having to write the beatings part. So don't hunt me down with every pointy object you can get your hands on, Roxas fans. Please.**

**I barely managed to get this chapter in before I go away later. See you soon!**

**Bye!**


	6. Paths Cross

**Well, here it is after much too long a wait. Sorry. Anyway, they'll meet in this chapter (at last!) so you'll be able to find out the couples. Soon I'll put the couples in the description. Three are common, one is uncommon and the remaining two are pretty much unique. Bet you can't wait to find out what they are.**

**By the way, I'd like to thank Innocent Uke Or NOT for reviewing every single chapter of this story.**

**Now, on with the story!**

* * *

><p><span>Sora's POV<span>

"Well, this must be Radiant Garden." Riku said. I nodded. It suited it's name, despite being under renovation. It was beautiful. There were large areas of grass, trees and flowers with benches and plenty of shade. There was also beautiful architecture, absolutely wonderful. That last bit seemed lost on Wakka though, he'd just noticed a large lake, perfect for swimming in. It was a beautiful blue colour. Fantastic.

Tearing ourselves away from the view, we set off trying to find a place for us to stay. We had decided to make that our priority when we got here. After about twenty minutes of searching, we found a good place that would let us stay. There was also apparently another group of six kids staying for a while, but the landlady, as her role was apparently called, didn't know how long for. It was a little strange. We had just missed them too, apparently.

We decided to head to the town centre and look for anything that might be helpful later. We managed to find a lot of helpful things, like these things called potions which were good at helping to heal injuries. We bought several of those, as well as plenty of food like the what we bought in Twilight Town. We also found that people had been staring at us and whispering. "The news about us must have spread quite quickly." was Kairi's deduction.

"I wonder how..." I thought out loud.

"What, where are you from? The Dark Ages?" asked a sarcastic voice. We spun round.

* * *

><p><span>Riku's POV<span>

Behind us was a tall, lanky man with a violent outburst of red hair on his head. He looked pretty handsome, if you asked me. "Who are you?" I asked.

"The name's Axel, got it memorized?" he said.

"Axel, are you verbally abusing random strangers with no clue about something again?" said a black haired girl, appearing behind him. She then looked at us and her eyes widened with what looked like shock. She turned and called out behind her. "Roxas, come here!"

"What is it?" said a blond boy with a hairstyle similar to Sora's. Then he looked at us and he seemed to suddenly become starstruck. "It's you! The six kids from that were on the raft! I read about that in the paper about a week ago!"

"It's really them?" Axel said.

"Of course it's them Axel!" the girl replied.

"Um, by the way, what are your names?" Sora asked, breaking the conversation.

"Sorry." said the girl. "I'm Xion and Blondie there is Roxas. You've already met Axel. And behind you are Zexion, Marluxia and Larxene." We turned to see three figures looming over us. I jumped and probably so did the rest of us.

"Hi." Zexion said.

"Hi!" both Marluxia and Larxene said that at the same time. They giggled, then kissed.

"Eww." Sora said.

"You weren't saying that when you kissed me a few years back." I taunted.

"Hey!" the rest of our hextet* laughed

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked, curious now.

"Sora and I had a little crush on each other about two years ago. Now we're just friends again."

"Really..." Axel and Roxas said at the same time. All of us laughed.

"Ah, it's good to see that you're already aquatinted. That simplifies things considerably." A voice said from beside me. I jumped.

* * *

><p><span>Axel's POV<span>

I nearly laughed when I saw one of them nearly jump out of his skin, I barely managed to contain it. However, the mysterious man who appeared mysteriously by this mysterious and cute boy's side in a very mysterious manner and was wearing a mysteriously funny costume...I have to stop reading crime fiction...

Anyway, I burst out laughing. It was as if the man had just woken up, the outfit looked like pajamas. Even the hat.

The laughter attracted a glare from Xion which instantly silenced me. Then Roxas began to talk. "Not quite. We don't know their names, your's for that matter."

"Sorry, I'm Sora and here are Riku, Kairi, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka. And who exactly are you sir?"

"My name is Merlin. And you are all very special children, well you, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Xion and Axel are. You just don't know it yet. Follow me if you want to find out what it is that's special about you."

"Should we?" Roxas asked.

"Why not." Xion replied.

"We'll tag along." Riku said.

"Then lets go!" Sora cried eagerly.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, this certainly is a bit of a puzzle. Oh, and there's going to be seven short chapters now. I won't tell you why. You'll just have to find out. By the way, I've noticed I've been forgetting disclaimers so...<strong>

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything it this story, in this or previous chapters. Anyhow, that is the chapter done with. See you soon. **


	7. The Prophecy

**Well, here's the first of the short chapters. Sorry about that. Anyway, remember the short poem at the start? That's going to become important. **

**Oh, I don't own KH or anything else familiar.**

**Anyway, speak to you after the chapter!**

* * *

><p><span>Roxas' POV<span>

As we walked along, I felt that I had to ask something. I walked up to the silverette, now know to be called Riku. "Is Sora really always this hyper or is this new?"

"Not always but he gets excited easily. Why?"

"Oh, no reason."

"You're in love with him aren't you?"

I gasped. "How..."

"I've fallen in love with him too. I can tell. Here's a tip. If he blushes when he looks at you, he's in love with you." He paused. "Is there a good reason why that red head behind us keeps staring at me when he thinks I'm not looking?"

"Me and Xion figured that from when he first saw a photo of you, he fell for you."

"Well, I don't mind. He is quite pretty..."

"You really think that?"

"Yes. So?"

"Oh, nothing. Anyway, I think Xion has a crush on Wakka. Zexion, I do not know."

"How come?"

"We've only been traveling with him since yesterday. It's not really a long enough time to find out something like that. Even when he saved my life..."

"What?"

"I don't want to go into it." My voice had grown quiet.

"Oh, ok. Hey, I think Sora does like you. He keeps on glancing at you, and now he's coming over. Good luck." He walked away.

* * *

><p><span>Xion's POV<span>

I was watching Roxas and Riku talking. They already seemed to get along. I smiled for them, then nearly cried when Roxas suddenly went into what I call his "emo mode". He just suddenly became depressed. I knew it would take some time before he came out of it. Then I saw Sora start bounding towards them and Riku walk away. He seemed to be heading in Axel's direction. I smiled. I knew that couples were already starting to form in our strange group. Very strange, I might say.

At this point, I tried to sneak closer to Sora and Roxas to hear what they were saying, but Larxene, Kairi and Selphie came up to me to talk.

"Hi." I said.

"Hi." They all replied.

"Hey, where are you six from?" Larxene asked.

"An island. No idea what it's actually called or where it is but we were shipwrecked there, before we were born."

"And are any of you taken?" I asked.

"Well, me and Tidus are, but the rest of us are free." Selphie said. I noticed that Kairi flinched slightly but decided not to ask why.

"Well, I don't think that will stay the same for Sora and Riku much longer." I said, nodding in their direction. Roxas had his arm round Sora's shoulder, like they'd known each other for years, and Riku and Axel were talking animatedly, blushing slightly whenever they touched or made eye contact. "So you know, in our group, only Zexion and me are left."

"Well, that's a perfect number."

"Yep."

* * *

><p><span>Sora's POV<span>

I walked over to Roxas and Riku, but right then, the latter walked away to talk to that red head. I fell into step next to Roxas, not wanting to seem rude, but not wanting him to see the blush on my face either. He was just so cute. He seemed to be doing something similar as well. But he couldn't have fallen for me. I just wasn't that lucky.

"Um, Sora?" I jumped. I'd been so wrapped up in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed he'd turned to look at me. "How do you swing?"

I looked at him in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"Sorry. Do you prefer girls, boys or both."

"Boys, but why?"

"In a minute. Do you, um, like me?" Roxas was blushing a lot now.

"Well, I do think you're cute...yes." I finally decided.

"Good. I like you too." He said. I blushed.

"Really?"

"Yep!"

"Great!" he flung his arm round my shoulder. "Why don't we do something together later?"

"Sure."

"Ok. Now, why don't we try to guess what's going on..."

* * *

><p><span>Riku's POV<span>

I walked over to Axel. I'd noticed him staring at me time and again, but whenever I looked, he'd turn away. I still managed to see the blush whenever I caught him at it though. I'd figured it out a bit ago though. I walked up to him.

"You like me, don't you?" I asked.

"Now I don't. I'm straight. Got it memorized?"

"Straight?"

"You know, attracted to women, or men if your a girl."

"I can tell you're not. You make it painfully obvious, you know."

"How?" he asked grumpily.

"You keep staring at me, for a start. For another thing..." I grinned. What I was going to say next would prove it. "...you paid no attention to several women barely wearing anything."

"They weren't my type."

"There were no women."

"WHAT! Oh man, you got me...fine." His voice grew quiet. "I like men. Happy?"

"Yep." We continued to talk for a while. I noticed him blush whenever one of us accidentally brushed against the other. The same happened whenever we made eye contact. I knew I was blushing whenever it happened as well. Suddenly, Merlin stopped.

"We're here." he said.

"I'd forgotten we were following him." I heard Axel mutter and I smiled. We'd stopped outside of a large wooden door. Merlin opened it and beckoned us through. We followed.

* * *

><p><span>Kairi's POV<span>

The room we walked into was actually quite large. The walls were grey stone, which was strange considering that the building was a dark red colour on the outside.

"Why has the colour of the stone changed?" Marluxia asked.

"The door's a portal. We're in my real home now. A giant tower. It saves on the rent." he replied. "I share it with another. He's called Yen Sid. He'll be here in a minute or two. Anyway, now for the reason you're here."

He paused to summon a table and some chairs from thin air. Then he pulled out a scroll from one of the many bookshelves on the wall. This he rolled out on the table. On it were four lines of writing. "This is why you're here." he said dramatically. That was quite an achievement, him not looking like he'd been out of bed all day. "This prophecy foretells the coming of you six." He pointed at Sora, Roxas, Axel, Riku, Xion and me. "You will get to hear it in about thirty seconds."

Suddenly, there was a puff of smoke and another old man appeared from it. "I'm Yen Sid." this newcomer said. "Pleased to meet you all."

"Hey! Can we get to this prophecy thing now? It's getting both late and boring." Axel said.

"Of course." Yen Sid replied. He sat on the last chair. "Let me tell you the prophecy. When the dark comes rising, six shall turn it back. Three from the circle, three from the track. Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone. Five will return, and one go alone." By the end, his voice had become very solemn.

"Yikes, I wish I hadn't been so hasty now." Axel said.

Merlin now spoke. "We know which of the elements, wood, bronze, iron, water, fire and stone, you six are, as well as which are from the circle and which are from the track..."

"I think I can figure out that last bit. Me, Sora and Riku are from the circle and Roxas, Axel and Xion are from the track."

"Correct. Now, can you line up in this order behind those short pillars behind me." We looked. There were six, all similar. "First Kairi..." I walked up. Then Riku, Sora, Roxas, Axel and finally Xion came up. "Now, put your hand on the pillar." We obliged. They opened up, all of them containing a glass container. Mine had a piece of bark in it.

"Kairi. You have the power of wood. May it shelter you from harm, like a tree from the rain." He moved on to Riku.

"Riku. You have the power of bronze. May it protect you from harm, like the strongest of shields." Then he moved on to Sora.

"Sora. You have the power of iron. May it help you vanquish you foes, like the mightiest spear." Then he moved to Roxas.

"Roxas. You have the power of water. May it allow you to flow through challenges, like a gushing river." Then he moved to Axel.

"Axel. You have the power of fire. May it guide you through challenges, like a candle's light." Then he moved to Xion.

"Xion. You have the power of stone. May it help you stand strong, like the tallest mountain."

"Now, it's getting late. And you need to get back here early tomorrow."

* * *

><p><span>Axel's POV<span>

"Wait, what?" I yelled.

"You need to train don't you?" Yen Sid said.

"Grr..."

"Ignore him." Riku said. His voice calmed me down a little. "Anyway, how are we going to find where we're staying? I've forgotten the way. And how will we find our way back?"

"Cysero will show you the way back and bring you here in the morning. Just to warn you, he's mad."

Cysero really was a loon. In fact, he was probably critically insane. He was apparently a magical weapon smith and would also have a weapon for each of us ready by morning. Anyway, we found we were staying in the same building. We got into an argument about who would sleep with who. It ended up as me with Riku, Roxas and Sora, Xion and Wakka, Selphie and Tidus, Marluxia with Larxene and Zexion with Kairi. I was convinced that there would only be one group who wouldn't be making out tonight...

...and that wasn't going to be me.

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, that was longer than I thought it would be. Oh, and the housetower and Cysero are both products of Atrix Entertainment. So I don't own them. Anyway, the next six chapters will be shorter, following each of their training. It'll be a day's worth of training. So the next six chapters will be set on the same day. After that, the real action will start.**

**Oh my, in this chapter I've gotten everyone's POV in that I'm going to do.**

**Anyway, see you all next time! Oh, and please review! I even accept flames, but positive comments are also loved.**


	8. Memories and Books

**I've changed my idea of the next few chapters. This will only be a short filler and I'll follow up with three chapters in quick succession. Oh, and I've been forgetting but, I own nothing you recognize from outside my stories. That's a little hint for later.**

**Oh, and I'm adding more POVs because otherwise I cannot explain some important things.**

**Anyway, here it is.**

* * *

><p><span>Kairi's POV<span>

I woke up the next morning to see Zexion across the room, reading. No surprise there. However, there was blood on his wrists. "Zexion! What happened?"

"What do you mean?" He replied, hurriedly hiding his wrists.

"To your wrists?"

"Nothing's wrong with them."

"There was blood..." he muttered. "What was I talking about?"

"Nothing. You only just woke up."

"Let's get ready to go meet Cysero."

"Ok."

* * *

><p><span>Zexion's POV<span>

I sighed. I hated using my powers. Especially on my friends. But sometimes I had to do it. I thought back to when I first use it.

_He was beating me again. I tried to play along but he always saw through it. _

"_Why do you insist on not being cured?"_

"_BECAUSE I CAN'T! IT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN CURE! W-WHY DON'T YOU JUST FORGET ABOUT ME?" All of a sudden, he stopped. _

"_Who are you?" He asked before shaking his head then walking away._

"Hey Zexion? Penny for them."

"Roxas. How was your night? Enough space for both of you in a bed?"

"Hey, all we did was kiss. I'm starting to regret ever meeting you."

"You do realize that without me you would be dead right?"

"Oh yeah, forgot about that."

"So, let's go and find Cysero and your new boyfriend." Roxas blushed.

"Fine. Let's go."

* * *

><p><span>Sora's POV<span>

"ROXY!" I yelled, running over and hugging him. We crashed to the ground, laughing. He gave me a quick kiss then stood up, pulling me up afterwards. "Oh, hi Zexion."

"Hi Sora. And hello everyone else." Roxas turned and blushed when he saw everyone else standing there.

"Guys, get a room. Got it memorized?"

"Axel, I've got something for you." Roxas said, walking over. Suddenly, he gave Axel a powerful punch in the stomach.

"Ow." Axel said simply, wheezing. Everyone else laughed.

Xion looked up. "Is there anyone who wears a green tunic other than Cysero?" Just as she said that, Cysero appeared and a man in a green tunic rode through the town on a brown horse. "Oh, I guess there is."

Cysero spoke up. "As your weapons are not yet complete, what you will be doing today is based on magic and history."

"Boring."

"It won't be Axel. Remember, if you get bored, there's always me you can look at." Riku whispered, just loud enough for us to hear. We laughed and Axel blushed.

"Hmm, I wonder where Axel's face has gone." I mused.

Cysero did an extremely exaggerated cough. "We should be going." he said, turning to lead us back.

"Right, come on!" I ran after him, pausing only to grab Roxas and drag him along.

* * *

><p><span>Roxas' POV<span>

I let Sora drag me along to the tower. He was extra hyper today, despite our lack of sleep due to our antics. I blushed at the memory. Then my face darkened.

_He giggled as I pushed him back on the bed. Our lips locked together and my tongue danced around his mouth. He tangled on hand in my hair, then ran the other down my back, then under my shirt. Then, he froze. "Roxy, what's this?" he asked, running his fingers along the scars on my back._

"_Scars from my time in a town called Wonderland."_

"_Doesn't sound so wonderful if they did this."_

"_It was the school there."_

"_Can I see?"_

"_A-Are you sure?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Ok..." I took off my shirt and turned to let him see my back. He gasped._

"_Roxas..." he rubbed by back. "Does it hurt?" _

"_Sometimes..."_

"_Who else knows?"_

"_Xion and Zexion in our group. There is also a doctor, several nurses and the person who did this."_

"_Who was it?"_

"_A teacher. Remind me, if we visit not to arrive in during school hours._

"_Sure thing."_

"Remember your promise Sora?"

"Yep. Are your scars hurting?"

"A little..."

"Oh, sorry."

"Just stop dragging me along and I'll be fine."

"Sure. Oh, we're here." We arrived and were lead into a large library. A woman in a blue and white dress came up to us.

"Cysero, didn't I bar you from with room after you nearly burnt it down?"

"I'll be going then." He left.

"Good." she turned to us. "Sorry. I'm Belle. I'm this tower's librarian. Yen Sid told me about you and which books you'll need. My assistant will show you them." She turned. "Naminé!"

A girl in a white dress ran up. "Yes Belle?"

"Show these six to the side room. Tidus, Selphie, Wakka, Marluxia, Larxene and Zexion, feel free to browse. Tell me if you need help finding anything."

* * *

><p><span>Axel's POV<span>

Naminé lead us to a smaller room with three two person sofas, a clock, a single shelf and a LOT of dust. "No one has set foot here since the room was made. You six are the only ones who will ever be allowed in here."

"Why?"

"The six books in here cannot be touched by anyone but you six and only read by you six too. But only one of you will find each book relevant. You can keep them for as long as you want."

Kairi walked over to the shelf and picked a book off it. It's cover was blue. "What the hell? It's blank!"

"That's because it's not your one. Think Kairi, what's your power?"

"Wood so..."

"I get it." Roxas said. "So they're color-coded to our powers. That means that that one is mine, Kairi." She gave him the book. "Yours is the dark brown."

"Thanks."

"Hey Roxy, could you pass me the red one?" I asked as I flung myself down on one of the sofas and causing a cloud of dust to billow out. While they laughed and I had a coughing fit, I attempted to glare at them. Finally, Roxas threw the book at me. Riku caught it and dropped it in my lap before sitting down next to me. Roxas sat with Sora all but in his lap and the girls shared the last sofa. We all read our books in silence.

* * *

><p><span>Zexion's POV<span>

"Show these six to the side room. Tidus, Selphie, Wakka, Marluxia, Larxene and Zexion, feel free to browse. Tell me if you need help finding anything."

As Naminé lead the chosen off to the side room she mentioned and the other five wandered off into the library, I went to Belle. "Belle, do you have anything on memory?"

"Five and a half bookcases full, any specific part?"

"Memory loss and erasing memory."

"Isle 9, right at the end. Bottom two shelves."

"Thanks." I headed to the isle she pointed out. It was actually quite short, about thirteen bookcases covering memory and emotions. I checked the books on the appropriate shelves. I pulled out one that looked likely, a thick tome entitled _The Users of Memory._ I went back to Belle and asked if there was somewhere to sit. There was one table at which sat a girl with black hair, clothes, boots, nails and lots of jewelry. I took the seat opposite her and opened the book.

"So you're like me then?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have power over memories. I do too. I can force memories to stay, never be forgotten. What about you?"

"I can make people forget about people or events."

"That's quite a unique power, even considering the fact power over memory is already very rare. Only three people including us have it right now. The third is Naminé. She can alter memories slightly. Oh, and you won't find anything useful in that book. I've read it enough times myself. It just describes the life of every person like us who ever lived. This one is better." She reached into a bag - black again - by her side and pulled out a much slimmer book. "This is a very rare book. I have the only copy save for the one in this library." It was called _Memories in Pieces_ and was very slim. "What you want is on page 29."

"Thanks." As I started to read, she walked off with the book to come back a minute later, evidently having put it away. "Good read. Thanks. All I need to do is tell someone to forget something with enough want and whomever I'm talking to will forget that event."

"Oh, one more thing, people with powers like ours can communicate mentally."

"So, we're telepathic?"

"Basically. You can talk to me or Naminé whenever you want. My name's Megan."

"How do you do it?"

"Picture the person, then the message. That's it."

"Anything else?"

"Oh yes, you can only talk to memory users and you cannot change the memories of other memory users or yourself."

"Can I try sending a message?"

"Sure. Here's an easy way to start." She handed me a deck of cards. "Shuffle, then pull out a random card. Now picture me and then the card." I did so and after about five seconds, she spoke. "Ace of clubs."

"Correct. This would be a great magic act."

Megan laughed. "It would, wouldn't it."

"Zexion, how did you make Megan laugh?" Naminé said from behind me. I turned to face her.

"You should know, you've been behind me for five minutes."

"True." She sat down. "So, you're like us then. You know, you should tell Merlin. He can help you learn to master it. We can train you as well though."

"We really can help you."

"I think I can control it. Hey, I'm going to see if anyone else in my group has them."

"It won't be any of the six in the next room. Try picturing the other six and think 'come here'."

"Sure." I did so and in a moment I heard one of them think back.

"_Where are you?"_

"_Ask Belle where the seats are."_

"_Ok..."_ He stopped talking.

"So there is another one in your group..." Naminé mused.

"It's either Tidus, Wakka or Marluxia."

"Ok, so why did you want me here? And how did you contact me?"

"Take a seat. We have some talking to do."

Ten minutes later, a loud 'WHAT!' came from that person.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, there it is. Sorry for the chapter that seems a filler, but it isn't. It's about their powers and more about Zexion. It's also the start of a side story I'm going to write later.<strong>

**Anyway, that's the library scene with several cameos for you. Three training scenes then a little mystery, finally finished with more adventure.**


	9. Fossilised Wood

**Training chapter 1. It's the same day for all this and the next two chapters. I hope that you will enjoy.**

**I'd like to thank Innocent Uke or NOT for reviewing every chapter so far! Thank you!**

**I don't own anything in this fic but Megan.**

* * *

><p><span>Xion's POV<span>

I woke to see a mop of ginger hair in front of me. "Good morning Wakka."

"Good morning Xi. Ready for that training?"

"I hope so..."

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. Just make sure you and Kairi stand back to back. That way, you don't have to worry about a sneak attack."

"Thanks."

"Don't worry love. Just try not to be the one who 'goes alone'. I'll die if you die."

"Don't worry. I'm sure it just means that one of us will have to go away from the others."

"I hope your right. Anyway, I'm sticking with you. No matter what."

"Thanks Wakka."

"Now, we gotta go see the others. We're late."

"You're right. Come on!" We headed out to find everyone but two waiting for us. "Where are Riku and Axel?"

"When I passed their room, I heard a lot of moaning and quite a few shouts from Riku." Sora commented.

I cringed. "Ew, now I have a really disturbing mental image! Thanks a lot!"

"I can't believe my brother is doing that!" I stared at her. "I guess I forgot to mention that Riku was my brother."

"Yeah, you did."

"What is it that mental image?"

"Well, if you really want to know..." Roxas leaned and whispered in Sora's ear. Sora cringed.

"Did you have to be that...descriptive?"

"Well, you asked for it."

"Hey guys." Riku said as he came down the stairs, carried by Axel. "I hit my leg against the bed last night. Hurts to go down stairs."

"Right..." I said, really sarcastically.

"What do you mean Xion?" Axel asked.

"We all know what you were doing this morning. I just hope you don't get us all in trouble for it."

"How do you you know?"

"Sora heard you as they came down."

"WHAT!"

"You weren't that quiet either." Sora shivered as he said that.

"Hiya guys!" called Cysero as he burst through the door. "I've got your weapons ready too!" I noticed Zexion and Tidus glance at each other. Tidus then frowned in what seemed like disappointment. He saw me, then straightened his face. Zexion glanced at me, then looked back to Cysero as if nothing had happened.

"So, what do we have?" Sora asked, breaking my train of thoughts.

"You'll see when we arrive. Now come on! I'll tell you about how I found my left sock on the trip!"** (A/N: That's actually part of a quest on Dragon Fable.)**

"Yep. Definitely insane." Roxas whispered, just loud enough for me and Sora to hear. We laughed.

"What's the joke?" Wakka asked.

"Roxas was just commenting on Cysero's insanity. It was just the way he said it."

"I hope you're not falling for him."

"No, don't worry hon." We set off and, after realizing we were passing the tower for the third time, left Cysero to his story. We headed in.

"Merlin?" Sora called. There was a puff of smoke and he appeared.

"Where's Cysero?" He asked.

"Walking around town while talking to us about his left sock..."

"Right...follow me." He lead us into the room we visited on our first visit. The six pillars were there, each with something leaning against them. "Your weapons are by your pillar."

We walked over and picked up our weapons. Mine was a staff made of some heavy grey stone, but it felt weightless in my hands. There was a darker orb at the top, held in clawed hand. I looked at the others, to see them all regarding their weapons.

* * *

><p><span>Kairi's POV<span>

I looked over my weapon, a bow with several ornate carvings. The string was tight, but now too tight to pull it to my ear from arms reach. I looked at the quiver. "WHAT THE HELL!" It was empty. The quiver itself was beautiful, wooden again with a brown strap and a beautiful carving of a tree, but it was empty! Not one arrow.

"Kairi, put on the quiver." Merlin told me. I put it on. It was weightless, like the bow. "Now reach into it." He turned back to Tidus and Zexion, who'd been talking to him before. I found a single arrow.

"Oh, sure. One arrow." I took it out. The shaft was wood, the tip a sharp stone and the fletch was three light brown feathers.

"Nice." said a girl, walking up behind me. "You know, every time you reach in, you'll find however many arrows you want." She left. I wondered about who she was for a second, then reached into the quiver again, finding three arrows, the number I expected.

"That's helpful. No need to find new arrows."

At that point, Cysero came into the room along with Yen Sid. "Why did you ditch me?" He whined.

"Because, you lead us past the tower three times, just so you could finish your story." Axel growled. Cysero shrank back.

"Ok. Now, lets get the training done. Split into pairs and each go through a door." The boys instantly ran to their boyfriends and went through the door. I went with Xion through the last.

"Ready?" She asked, gripping her staff with both hands.

"I hope so..." I drew an arrow ready. The room was a square in shape and absolutely huge! I couldn't see the far corners. "This room could use a make over." i commented.

"Sure could...hey, what's that?" 'That' was an ant-like creature that was almost entirely black, only it's eyes were yellow.

"You will face many of these agents of the Dark. They are called Shadows and are the weakest agents." Merlins voice came from nowhere. "You must destroy them all to continue." As he spoke, lots more appeared. I hit two with arrows before Xion could react. They disappeared in puffs of shadow.

"Xion, you have power over stone, right? So can you lift us up, out of their reach?"

"I'll try. Cover me!" With that she hit one of the Shadows on the head, then slammed it into the ground. A glowing circle appeared around us, followed by a rumbling that came with us both flying us flying up on a floating circle of stone. "Good?" she asked.

"Yep. Now it's time for that redecorating I mentioned." With that, I knelt and, focusing hard, I forced trees to grow all over the room, then jumped down, willing the branches to catch me before I hit the ground. They did, cushioning my fall. I then started to pick off the Shadows, one by one, while Xion landed and formed a cave around herself with a tiny entrance. They would have to go in one at a time to attack, and I knew Xion would be prepared. I continued my sniping until they were all gone. I shouted into the cave. "Xion, they're all gone. You can come out know. They've gone."

"Good." She came out of the now larger door, then forced it down into the floor.

"You have done well. Now, here is the second weakest of the agents of the Dark, Neoshadows." A larger creature appeared, similar but more humanoid. "Prepare."

"Come on Kairi, hang them from the trees!"

"What?"

"Ensnare the Neoshadows in the branches of the trees! Quickly!" They leapt forwards and I barely managed to catch them before they attacked us. "Keep hold of them! I'll take care of them!"

"Don't worry! I've got it!" I caused the branches to tighten, severing various body-parts from the Neoshadows, both sections of each disappearing. When they'd all gone, I collapsed to my knees.

* * *

><p><span>Xion's POV<span>

"Kairi!"

"Don't worry. I...just used too...much energy. I'll...be fine."

"Well done all of you. Now you just need to defeat one more. This is the strongest agent of the Dark, save for their commander. It's called a Darkside." It was huge! It had the build of a human, save for a large hole in it's chest. The first thing it did was to punch the ground, causing the earth to shake. I fell over as Kairi finished collapsing. I stood up, using the staff to encase the Darkside in stone up to it's knees.

"Right. NOW you've made me mad!" With that, I caused the stone to carry on up it's body, fully encasing it. I then caused the stone to shrink, destroying the Darkside slowly, and painfully. "There." I looked at Kairi. She wasn't moving. I ran over. "Kairi! Kairi! Are you Ok? Please let you be ok..." I jumped as she snored. I dropped her head in a fit of anger.

"OW! Why did you have to wake me? I was having a wonderful dream!"

"Sorry. I get mad when people seem to be dead, then turn out to be asleep. Or anything like that. Anyway, I think we're done here."

"I think you're right. Come on!" We headed back to the door. The instant we stepped through, we were both knocked to the floor, but Kairi only due to how tired she was. Wakka actually did a flying tackle to hug me!

"Wakka, calm down! And please get off me."

"Aww, but you're so comfy!"

"I said get off!"

"You should." Kairi said. "You wouldn't like her when she's mad."

"Really? What's she like?"

"Remember that Darkside?"

"Yep. We got a great view from where we sat...oh."

"Yeah."

"You two do remember that I'm right here, don't you?"

"Yep." He kissed me on the cheek. "Love ya."

"Love you too, honey."

"The others are coming out now! They must have lingered a little. I think I can guess why." Selphie shouted. Tidus helped her, then Kairi up. "Thanks Ti."

"No problem. You know, I'm surprised Axel and Riku didn't end up doing it again."

"Doing wha...oh, never mind." I said.

"Well, now that we're done here and it's already nine pm, I think we ought to get back."

"Your right Wakka." I said, before whispering in his ear. "I can't wait until tonight."

* * *

><p><strong>Please don't kill me! I'm very sorry to have made it so boring! Please don't kill me! Anyway, next is Axel and Riku's training. I'll update A.S.A.P.<strong>

**And sorry for the delay! I've gotten my first bout of Writer's Block! That terrible, terrible disease that had me bed-ridden for ages! Sorry! I was stuck at about line seven.**

**See you next time!**


	10. Blazing Bronze

**Training chapter 2! It's Axel and Riku's turn to train. Don't worry, this is staying at a T rating. It's starting from when they come downstairs.**

**Everything else in the to A/N, same as last time.**

* * *

><p><span>Riku's POV<span>

I limped over to the door to go and face the day. The wake up call had been...pleasant to say the least, but it left me with this limp. Axel scooped me up, then somehow opened the door before carrying me down the stairs. I heard voices at the bottom.

"Did you have to be that...descriptive?"

"Well, you asked for it."

"Hey guys." I said as the others came into view. "I hit my leg against the bed last night. Hurts to go down stairs."

"Right..." Xion said, her voice oozing with sarcasm.

"What do you mean Xion?" Axel asked.

"We all know what you were doing this morning. I just hope you don't get us all in trouble for it."

"How do you you know?"

"Sora heard you as they came down."

"WHAT!"

"You weren't that quiet either." Sora shivered as he said that.

"Hiya guys!" called Cysero as he burst through the door. "I've got your weapons ready too!" I gave Axel a quick kiss, then got him to put me down.

"So, what do we have?" Sora asked.

"You'll see when we arrive. Now come on! I'll tell you about how I found my left sock on the trip!" Oh, goody.

We set off and, after Xion noticed we were passing the tower for the third time, left Cysero to his story. We headed in.

"Merlin?" Sora called. There was a puff of smoke and he appeared.

"Where's Cysero?" He asked.

"Walking around town while talking to us about his left sock..."

"Right...follow me." He lead us into the room we visited on our first visit. The six pillars were there, each with something leaning against them. "Your weapons are by your pillar." I found a shield by mine. It was bronze and had some beautiful engravings. The strap was black leather and the shield's shape was like half an oval but it was pointed at the bottom. Axel's weapons were two, flat circular weapons with large spikes around the edge. They were held by two bars crossing over each other in the middle.

"WHAT THE HELL!" I heard Kairi yell. After a few more minutes of admiring our weapons, Cysero came into the room along with Yen Sid. "Why did you ditch me?" He whined.

"Because, you lead us past the tower three times, just so you could finish your story." Axel growled, causing Cysero shrank back. I stifled a laugh.

"Ok. Now, lets get the training done. Split into pairs and each go through a door." I grabbed Axel's hand and dragged him through one of the doors.

* * *

><p><span>Axel's POV<span>

As I was dragged through the door, I saw Sora pulling Roxas with him. I also heard Tidus tell me that they could see what we were doing. I decided not to test that. Maybe.

The room was large, rectangular and had a very high roof. All of a sudden, a small ant-like creature with yellow eyes appeared. "You will face many of these agents of the Dark. They are called Shadows and are the weakest agents." Merlin's voice came from nowhere. "You must destroy them all to continue."

"Oh, joy." I said as hundreds more appeared. I threw one of my weapons at some, then a fireball. Meanwhile, Riku turned his shield into a boomerang which he threw whenever he could. When he realized that wasn't doing enough, he turned it into something like my my weapons and used that to attack. "How do you do that?"

"I have power over bronze. Thus, I can change the shape of my weapon. Because it's made of bronze." He leapt back, so we were back to back, then started to slash away at them. After about five minutes of hacking and slashing away, the wave came to an end.

"Finally." I really stressed the start of the word.

"You have done well. Now, here is the second weakest of the agents of the Dark, Neoshadows." A larger creature appeared, similar but more like a human. "Prepare."

"Oh, great! More enemies!" I grabbed my other weapon, then jumped back. "I'll take care of these Riku. Just sit back, relax and try not to get burnt." I summoned fire around my weapons, throwing them. They boomeranged back and when they returned, I span and threw them, causing them to fly round, cutting through all the Neoshadows. Riku slammed his shield down on the last one's head, finishing them all off.

"Well done all of you. Now you just need to defeat one more. This is the strongest agent of the Dark, save for their commander. It's called a Darkside."

"Oh, come on! Is there no end to this training?"

"Axel, he said we only have to defeat one more enemy. How hard could it...oh." I looked up. The Darkside was a giant. It looked like a person but was black, had yellow eyes and had a huge hole in it's chest.

"Let me try against this one." Riku turned his shield into a large shuriken **(A/N Think Yuffie's but bronze.) **and threw it at the Darkside's head, severing it. It disappeared into darkness.

"Well, we're done. Now, lets have a fun before we go." With that, I leapt on him and started to cover him with kisses. I then latched onto his mouth, him gasping and allowing me entry. I ran my tongue around his mouth, stopping him from moving his. I pulled out, him moaning in displeasure. "Come on. We have to go."

"Fine." He answered grumpily. We left at the same time as Roxas and Sora did, them holding hands. Xion and Kairi were already out.

"You guys all did awesome!" Tidus shouted. "Kairi, the forest you made was a brilliant idea. Xion, how did you turn that thing into a statue?"

"Axel, that fire boomerang thing was brilliant! And Riku, you sure know how to use that shield of your's." Selphie squealed.

"And Sora, Roxas, that was an amazing trick." Marluxia commented. Larxene nodded in agreement, hugging him.

"Thanks. Come on now, we'd better be getting back." Sora said. I yawned.

"You're right." Xion said. "Come on."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for all the similarities! I just had to keep it similar due to the fact that it's the same day. Anyway, see you all soon! For Sora and Roxas!<strong>


	11. Liquid Iron

**Last training chapter. I hope you're enjoying this. Sora and Roxas now. And I apologize for how short the last chapter was.**

**Nope, still don't own it. If I did, Kairi and Riku's roles would be swapped.**

* * *

><p><span>Sora's POV<span>

"Good morning sleepy-head!" Roxas groaned and rolled over, freeing me.

"Five more minutes..." he muttered before falling asleep again. I stood up and got ready for the day. Then I snuck over and shouted in his ear.

"WAKE UP!" He jumped up so suddenly, he fell off the bed.

"Sora. Why did you wake me up so early? It's..." He reached for the clock next to our bed. "Half past ten!"

"I tried to get you up earlier but even in a full hour I couldn't even get you off of me. You really are a deep sleeper."

"Strange, I'm not really..."

"Might be because of all the things we did last night."

"Hmm, we did do a lot of kissing last night, didn't we?"

"Yep. We were up until three exploring my mouth." I blushed at the memory.

"Sure was a fun night..."

"Yep. Anyway, I'm going down. See you in a minute."

"Bye, Sor!"

"Bye Roxy!" I set off downstairs. As I passed Axel and Riku's room, I heard some strange moans and Riku shouting several things that made no sense. I shrugged and walked down, finding I was the fist down. Roxas, Kairi, Selphie, Tidus, Marluxia, Larxene and Zexion soon followed though. I instantly gave Roxy a hug and we all chatted for a few minutes before Xion and Wakka came down.

"Where are Riku and Axel?" she asked.

"When I passed their room, I heard a lot of moaning and quite a few shouts from Riku." I commented.

Xion cringed. "Ew, now I have a really disturbing mental image! Thanks a lot!"

"I can't believe my brother is doing that!" Five people stared at Kairi. "I guess I forgot to mention that Riku was my brother."

"Yeah, you did."

"What is it that mental image?" I asked

"Well, if you really want to know..." Roxas leaned and whispered in my ear. I cringed.

"Did you have to be that...descriptive?" I complained.

"Well, you asked for it."

"Hey guys." Riku said as he came down the stairs, carried by Axel. "I hit my leg against the bed last night. Hurts to go down stairs."

"Right..." Xion's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"What do you mean Xion?" Axel asked.

"We all know what you were doing this morning. I just hope you don't get us all in trouble for it."

"How do you you know?"

"Sora heard you as they came down."

"WHAT!"

"You weren't that quiet either." I shivered.

"Hiya guys!" called Cysero as he burst through the door. "I've got your weapons ready too!"

"So, what do we have?" I asked.

"I think he's insane." Roxas whispered to me.

"You'll see when we arrive. Now come on! I'll tell you about how I found my left sock on the trip!"

"Yep. Definitely insane." Roxas whispered, just loud enough for me and Xion to hear. We laughed. Cysero glared at us.

"Great line Roxy."

"Thanks."

We set off and, after Xion realized we were passing the tower for the third time, left Cysero to his story. We headed in.

"Merlin?" I called. There was a puff of smoke and he appeared.

"Where's Cysero?" He asked.

"Walking around town while talking to us about his left sock..." Wakka said.

"Right...follow me." He lead us into the room we visited on our first visit. The six pillars were there, each with something leaning against them. "Your weapons are by your pillar."

By my pillar was a simple sword, with a yellow handle and blue grip. Roxy, who was right next to me, was just holding a charm. It fit in his hand and it was shaped like a circle but there was a cross in the middle, splitting it into quarters. "What the...?"

"It must be something to do with the fact that your magic is the only all-round one. You mustn't need a weapon so that probably does something like power up your magic." He shrugged and tucked it in one of his pockets. "Wait, can I see it?" He pulled it back out and passed it to me. It was transparent, blue and had tiny carvings of various aquatic animals. "It's beautiful..."

"Just like you." He whispered in my ear. I giggled, then gave him a quick kiss. As Kairi shouted something. I wasn't listening so I didn't actually hear what she said.

Cysero came in along with Yen Sid. "Why did you ditch me?" He whined.

"Because, you lead us past the tower three times, just so you could finish your story." Axel growled. Cysero shrank back.

"Ok. Now, lets get the training done. Split into pairs and each go through a door." Roxas dragged me into one room, which turned out to be about the blandest thing ever. It was grey, square and very big. All of a sudden, a black, ant-like thing with yellow eyes appeared between me and Roxas.

"You will face many of these agents of the Dark. They are called Shadows and are the weakest agents." Merlin's voice came from nowhere. "You must destroy them all to continue." As he said that, a lot more appeared.

* * *

><p><span>Roxas' POV<span>

I pulled the charm out of my pocket. Sora held the sword in front of him while I summoned an orb of water into my hand. Sora started to slash away while I swept them into the way of his sword. They were quickly taken care of.

"That was easy." Sora commented.

"You took out most of them you know. I just got them to you."

"You little..." He was interrupted by Merlin, who once again spoke from nowhere.

"You have done well. Now, here is the second weakest of the agents of the Dark, Neoshadows." A bigger creature appeared, similar but more human in shape. "Prepare."

"I'll take care of these." I twisted round, causing the water from the last fight to start to spin. The ring of water lifted slightly off the ground and sped outwards. Just as the last Neoshadow was destroyed, I twisted too much and my back burst into pain. "AHHH!" I collapsed.

"Roxas!" Sora ran up to me and gently rubbed my back. "Are you ok?"

"I-I'm fine." I said, climbing to my feet. Sora still refused to let go of me, holding me up.

"Well done all of you. Now you just need to defeat one more. This is the strongest agent of the Dark, save for their commander. It's called a Darkside." The Darkside was easily the largest thing I'd ever seen. It was like a human, but it was completely with yellow eyes. There was a hole in it's chest. It knelt down, crossing it's arms over the hole, then moved it's hands to it's side. A bright light radiated out of it's chest, followed by a pair of orbs, moving towards us. Sora blocked one while I fired a bolt of ice at the other. That gave me an idea.

"Sora, throw your sword towards the Darkside. I've got a plan."

He blocked two more of the orbs. "Ok. I hope you know what you're doing." As the Darkside stood, I covered the sword in ice and sent it flying towards it. As the ice hit, it shattered, the ice digging into the Darkside whereas the sword powered into it's neck. It faded away. "That's done." He grabbed his sword. "Are you better?"

"Yes. I think so." I took a step towards the door. I cried out involuntarily.

"Roxas!" He started to rub my back again. Eventually the pain left and I got back up, grabbing Sora's hand and we walked our of the door.

"They probably thought we were making out."

"Yeah. Should we tell them?"

"About the scars? No."

"Sure?"

"Yep."

"You guys all did awesome!" Tidus shouted. "Kairi, the forest you made was a brilliant idea. Xion, how did you turn that thing into a statue?"

"Axel, that fire boomerang thing was brilliant! And Riku, you sure know how to use that shield of your's." Selphie squealed.

"And Sora, Roxas, that was an amazing trick." Marluxia commented. Larxene nodded in agreement, hugging him.

"Thanks. Come on now, we'd better be getting back." Sora said. Axel did a really over-exaggerated yawn.

"You're right." Xion said. "Come on."

As we headed back, I saw that Zexion and Tidus both seemed lost in thought. I didn't think anything of it though. When we got back, those two decided to go for a walk. Tidus actually made sure that Selphie would stay behind. After they left, we all went to our rooms. I climbed on top of Sora, kissing him until I eventually fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry about how this chapter ended. I just needed a bit more on Tidus and Zexion. And I have to apologize for how short my chapters are. Anyway, something is actually going to happen next chapter (gasp!) so be prepared!<strong>

**Bye!**


	12. A Day Off

**Here's the next chapter. I'll try to make it a long one. I'll also try to put in the mystery, that won't really be much of a mystery. **

**Nope, still don't own it.**

* * *

><p><span>Roxas' POV<span>

A month after we started our training, and two moves later (due to Axel and Riku), we found ourselves in our rooms at Merlin's after our last day of training. I lay down next to Sora, him already asleep. It had been a tiring day. We'd all been teamed together for only the second time so we all had tricks only our usual training partners knew. Because of that, we still worked in those pairs. Mostly. Axel and Kairi did a fire arrow combo at one point, but that was it. It was not really much differant than normal really.

Sora rolled over, throwing an arm over me. I smiled, then curled up beside him and fell asleep.

We woke at about nine the next morning. Well, I woke, then spent about ten minutes trying to wake Sora up. He jumped up after I threw a glass of water on his head. The equivalent of a glass at least. "What are you doing?"

"Waking you up. Come on now, get ready."

"Why?"

"In five minutes, we need to be downstairs. That gives us ten minutes."

"That makes no sense whatsoever."

"Axel and Riku?"

"Makes more sense now. Come on!" We got ready and thought we were the first ones down. That is, until we found that Zexion and Tidus were already there. They came in with Merlin, Yen Sid, Naminé and another girl. She was dressed entirely in black.

"Ah, two more of you are down. Now then, when the others get down, I have a few gifts." Yen Sid said. "I mean we." He continued when Merlin gave him a glare.

"Ok. Hey, here come some more of us." I said, hearing footsteps. "I'll bet Riku and Axel are the only ones not in this group." To our surprise, everyone was there, even them.

"What's up?" Axel asked. Me and Sora stared in surprise.

"You-you're up! Is it the Apocalypse?"

"Ha ha ha."

"Very funny, you two." Riku continued.

Yen Sid coughed to get our attention. "We have some gifts." He waved his hand and a puff of smoke appeared around my wrist. It faded to reveal a small silver bracelet. On it was a small picture of my weapon. I looked at Sora and found he had one too, as did Axel, Riku, Xion and Kairi.

"Ok. So, what do they do?" Sora asked.

Merlin spoke up. "They contain your weapons."

The girl in black continued. "Just tap it three times." I tried it and all of a sudden, my weapon was in my hands.

"So how do we put it back in?" Xion asked.

"Tap three times again." The girl answered. I did so and I was left empty handed.

"That's handy." Sora commented.

"I know."

"So, what now?"

"Feel free to do what you like today. You deserve it. Feel free to use the munny in the next room. Treat yourselves." Merlin, Yen Sid, Naminé and the girl left, leaving the twelve of us alone. The girl darted back in.

"Hey Roxas, this may seem random but, do you remember your trip to Wonderland?"

"How could I forget?" I shuddered. "But how..."

"Right." She left.

"What was that about?" Axel asked.

"It's nothing." I said, looking down. All I could think about now was that time. I felt a hand take mine. I looked up to see Sora smiling at me.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Don't worry." That still didn't stop him from fussing over me though.

* * *

><p>We borrowed some munny and set off in groups. I tagged along with Sora and we headed off, hunting for anything that tickled our fancy. Sora got distracted at half the stalls and shops littered about but still ended up buying barely anything. At one point he snuck off, returning five minutes later with two ice-creams and a small bag. He gave me one of the ice-creams.<p>

"Here you go."

"What have you got there?"

"I have my secrets. Now come on, you should buy something."

"Yeah, I should."

"Shouldn't you boys be with your parents?" A voice said from behind us.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Xemnas. And where are your parents?" He looked every inch the pervert. Even his voice.

"Their just over there. We should be going. Bye."

"Goodbye." I dragged Sora away.

"Why did you hurry away from him?"

"Sora, if people you don't know try to talk to you, get away from them quickly. Make sure to remember that."

"Why?"

"There are bad people in the world. It's safer to make sure you don't give anyone a chance to do something like that."

"Just strangers, right?"

"Right." At this point, we'd reached some much quieter side streets. "Now come on! We need to find our way back."

We turned, to see that Xemnas had followed us. "So, you are alone. Very well." With that, he ran forwards, punching both of us in the stomachs.

* * *

><p><span>Sora's POV<span>

I woke to find myself wet, and in a dark room. "I finally managed to wake you. We need to get out of here. That Xemnas guy kidnapped us. My powers can't get us out. All I've done is find the lock is steel, which is mostly iron."

"Right. So I can control it. Stand back." He went to the back of the room while I focused on the lock. It snapped, then melted and made a mini sculpture of Roxas.

"Hey, thanks!"

"You're welcome. Now, let's go!" I threw open the door, only to find we were moving. The room had been the back of some moving thing. "Should have warned you we were in a van."

"What's a van?"

"This thing." He looked out. "Should have known it was white."

"Why?"

"It normally is."

"What is?"

"Vans that people for kidnappings. Now jump on three." The van came to a stop. "Or now. Either is good." I returned the statue to it's original place to make sure we weren't discovered, then ran. We somehow managed to get back to the street we were on when we met Xemnas. "I got that bag of your's back. Don't worry, I didn't look."

"Thanks. You're not lying about not looking, right?"

"Don't worry."

"I'll try. Now come on, you need to buy something and...not look over there!" I had just spotted Axel and Riku, looking like they were trying to swallow the other. I cringed and looked away. "Come on. Let's go...this way." I pointed in the direction opposite to Axel and Riku and dragged him along before he could react.

"Ok, just be careful. I've got a bad back, you know."

"Oh yeah. Sorry." I let go and we walked off together, stopping at various shops and stalls on the way. We bought surprisingly little, despite the number of places we visited. We bumped into Tidus, Wakka, Marluxia and Zexion at about twelve, them having split off from the girls because they couldn't decide where to go. Roxas abandoned me for about five minutes then and we chatted for a while. At one point, Tidus burst out laughing and Zexion chuckled at the same time for no reason. Roxas came running back then, holding a new bag that was similar to mine. "So what have you got there?" I asked.

"I have my secrets." He replied, imitating me. I gave him a quick hug, then flicked him. "Hey!" We all laughed. "Ok, so where are you going?"

"Down this street, then just wander around there. What about you?"

"Other way. See you later."

"Sure. See ya!" Marluxia called over his shoulder as he set off, his pink hair drawing stares from the crowd. We headed off in the other direction, looking for a food stand. We enjoyed a lunch of hot dogs and ice-cream and just wandered around, sometimes going to differant shops, me buying him several more gifts, as well as a small anklet for myself. I bought him one as well though. We spent a good five hours looking around before returning to the tower. We found that other than Axel and Riku, we were the first back. Yen Sid told us that though as they'd gone to their room for one of their 'bonding sessions'. Within an hour, we all drifted back in, the girls arriving fist, laden with shopping bags, especially Larxene. They were followed by Wakka and Marluxia who had apparently split up with Zexion and Tidus by complete accident. The last two appeared just as Axel and Riku came down. A gong rang, announcing dinner. We went in to find Naminé and the girl there.

* * *

><p>"I just realized that I never introduced myself. I'm Megan." she said.<p>

"Hey, Sora. Mind if I get the seat next to her? I need to ask her something."

"What?"

"How she knows about Wonderland."

"Right. Ok." We took our seats, me ending up next to Zexion. I heard Roxas ask, then heard the reply.

"Well, Zexion told me." He turned to look at said boy.

"You did what?"

"Don't worry. You won't even be able to remember it by tomorrow."

"What do you..."

"Oh, by the way, here's something for you." It was a small book.

"What about me?" I asked.

"Tidus has your's. Don't panic." He headed round the table, giving Axel, Xion, Marluxia and Larxene all books. Then Tidus did the same for the rest of our group, but he gave out small boxes, the last one going to Selphie. I opened mine, to see a small green gem.

"The colour is what I think your personality is like."

"Thanks Ti." Selphie said, giving him a hug. He blushed.

"Later, ok?" She smiled and let go. I saw Tidus start to cry, but silently. I don't think anyone else noticed though. The rest went by with nothing special.

"Guys, I've got something to tell you all." Zexion said after we'd finished. "I'm really sorry to have to do this, but forget about me and Tidus." And with that, they left the room.

"Hey, why are there two extra chairs? And what are these boxes?" Selphie asked, holding up a small box. I found I had one as well.

"And I wonder what this book is." Roxas asked, holding up a small book.

"No idea. Now come on. It's late. We've got to get to bed."

* * *

><p><strong>Naminé, Megan, Tidus and Zexion won't be appearing in this fic any more, except maybe for a brief cameo later. There will be another story about them later though. So don't kill me any fans of them. <strong>

**Sorry for the delay and I'll see you next time.**


	13. The Map and the Mission

**Sorry for the wait. I had too many fics running so had to wait until I finished New Adventures. I'm so sorry that I've left it so long. Well, enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span>Axel's POV<span>

After Roxas' comment the other day, I'd set my alarm to go off earlier than normal. However, due to our late night thanks to our 'antics', we slept right through it, waking a full hour after it. As I woke, I smiled and ran my hands through his hair. Then I looked at the clock. I jumped up and started to throw on clothes, both waking and startling Riku. He looked at the clock. His eyes widened in realization before he did the same as me. We were still the last ones down.

"About time!" Kairi called, holding hands with Selphie. **(A/N. Remember that they have forgotten entirely about Tidus, so as a result, Selphie now loves Kairi.)**

"Do you have to entertain yourselves every morning?" Larxene asked. We blushed.

"Excuse me. Would you take your seats?" Merlin asked. We sat. "Right, now that you're all here, we can tell you about your mission." He said before making a map appear on the table in a puff of smoke. That was becoming a bit of a clique. "Here is Radiant Garden." He said, pointing at a circle. He tapped it and the map zoomed in on the circle, creating a map of the town. "This map will show you this entire continent, and where there is trouble. You will not have to visit some places, as there is another group who will also take on this task. But you twelve..."

"Ten." I interrupted.

"Oh yes, ten. Anyway, the ten of you will have to go around and deal with the Dark. We have found out something about him though. His name, is Xemnas."

"Wait, Xemnas?" Roxas shouted, making everyone jump.

"You know him?" Marluxia asked.

"Well, he tried to kidnap me and Roxas yesterday." Sora told us. "We managed to escape, thankfully. And well, obviously."

"Really?" Riku asked.

"Yeah. And the next familiar sight was of you two trying to swallow each other." I blushed. Again.

"Anyway, you ten. Your first stop is in Olympus Colosseum, then you should go to Agrabah."

"Oh, yes!" Xion said sarcastically. "Two rips to warm areas. One in a desert, one just outside it. Oh, I can't wait."

"Couldn't be that bad, right? Xi?" Wakka asked. Xion shook her head.

"It is."

"So do we get one of those cool maps?" I asked, destroying the mood.

"I'll get you all one by tonight. In the meantime, you get another day off." Merlin said.

"That's handy. See you all tonight!" With that I dragged Riku off up to our room.

* * *

><p><span>Xion's POV<span>

I slapped my face as they went upstairs. They were doing it like it was going out of fashion. "I wonder how Axel went from closet to that." I said to no one in particular.

"Same here." Roxas said from across the table. "I sometimes wonder if those two have any same whatsoever." We all laughed.

"Merlin?" Sora said. "Do you know why we have these gems?" He said, holding up a small box.

"Or, for that matter, these books?" Marluxia asked.

"I do not claim to know. But I do believe that they may be linked." We all took out ours and started to look over them.

* * *

><p><span>Roxas' POV<span>

I looked over the cover of my book. I knew I couldn't open it, I'd tried several times. As I ran my hand along the spine, I felt a small hole in the spine. It was triangular and looked about the same size as Sora's gem. That gave me an idea. "Hey, Sora? Could I see that gem for a sec?"

"Sure." He handed it over. I slotted it into the spine, finding it was a perfect fit. Suddenly, a burst of light came from the pages. When it faded, there were two identical books, both with a green gem in the spine.

"What the..." Sora started. I reached for the book and opened it. It told the story of a boy, and as I flicked through, I realized it was of me!

"Ok, that's creepy." I said.

"Why?" Sora asked. He had yet to open his.

"It's a story of my life. As in, my entire life. Every second."

"Really?"

"Yep. It's even got Wonderland." Everything is there, down to the last detail. It's even updating constantly." What I said and everything I did was recorded in the book. It was so strange. There were three other bursts of light, then six more books appeared. They were all the same, save for appearance.

"These books sure are creepy." Larxene said after flicking through it.

"Yeah." Marluxia agreed. "Helps out with hindsight though." He joked.

"Anyway, feel free to use the munny in that room again. As for what you do, your choice. However, I think that Axel and Riku have already chosen their...activity." He cringed at the thought. "Anyway, watch out for anything suspicious. If Xemnas was here..." He didn't need to say anything else we knew who he was and would not be going near him any time soon. "None of you are ready to face him yet."

As we went into our room, I gave Sora a quick kiss, then a proper one, smashing my lips into his. He gasped and I used that chance to get my tongue in his mouth. I ran it around his mouth, circling it a few times before I broke away. I found my hands had wandered to his hair while his circled my waist. I smiled, then reached into my pocket and pulled out a small necklace. "So you know, it's made of iron." It was a silver chain, with a small ring hanging from it.

"Hey! You copied me!" He joked, then pulled out a similar necklace.

"Thanks Sora!" I hugged him, then took a closer look at the ring. On it was an engraving. I read it out loud. "'Waters of love'? Thanks so much." He read his aloud.

"'My love for you is stronger than iron'." He smiled. "Now I know my weakness." We laughed. "So, what are we going to do today?"

"Well, we could spend some time up here, 'bonding'." He grinned at my suggestion, then pulled me onto the bed with him. I landed on top of him, and then we started.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry again for the wait. I'm also sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I hope you'll carry on reading this, through to the bitter end. It will hopefully last at least another ten chapters.<strong>

**Anyway, goodbye for now!**


	14. New Maps

**Next chapter here! I hope you've been enjoying this. So now, here we go!**

* * *

><p><span>Riku's POV<span>

The next day, I threw on my clothes after waking Axel. He grinned, then joined me. "So, how is my boyfriend today?" He asked. I grinned and gave him a peck on his cheek.

"I'm good, Axy honey." He chuckled at the name. "Oh, I am so going to call you that when we go downstairs." He gulped.

"Y-You wouldn't be that cruel, would you?" He had a genuine scared look on his face. I had to hug him. We found ourselves on the bed within the next minute, our mouths latched together. I broke the kiss.

"Later." I said to his pouting face. "If we do get another night in a bed." I added sadly. I would miss spending the nights with Axel on the bed.. It had been so comfy, and the bed was nice too. Axel was a great comfort. Still, I'd heard about mattresses that two people could share. I had to find out more about them...

"Well then, why don't we go down now? We might be able to surprise the others." A mischievous glint lit his eyes. "We could set a trap!"

"Why not? Tripwire?"

"Where?"

"Stairs?" He grinned.

"Let's get down to it!" He headed downstairs and I summoned my shield and sent out a thin strip of bronze, too thin to see with the naked eye, and stretched it across the staircase. Then we settled down and waited.

After ten minutes of waiting, we heard someone coming downstairs. We tried to stifle our giggles, ending up kissing to stop them. Still some came out. "Wait, stop a sec Sora." We heard Roxas say as the footsteps stopped. "I though I heard giggling. Axel and Riku, to be exact." We glanced at each other, and gulped. "Sora, will you do the honors?"

"Sure!" A few seconds later, they stepped out, completely unaffected by the trap.

"What the..." Axel started.

"We saw your trap. I guessed you would do something like that, sprayed a fine mist across the door, revealed it, then Sora cut it with his sword. Now you can't get anyone with that trap." He glared at us, a look that was completely destroyed when Sora glomped him. "Sora..."

"What? I couldn't resist! You just look sooo sad when you glare! And I don't like to see you sad." Roxas' face softened.

"Ok, koibito." Sora giggled. I raised an eyebrow.

"What on earth?" Axel asked. His expression mirrored mine.

"That's our secret, baka." We glared at Roxas.

"Anyway, sayonara!" Sora called as they walked off into the one of the connecting rooms. Axel sighed.

"Roxas just had to teach him some Japanese, didn't he?" He said to himself.

"What?"

"Japanese. Before we started our journey, and while we were traveling, he was teaching himself it. I'm sure that half the things he says to me in that language is an insult." I put my hand on his shoulder. He turned to me and smiled. "Don't worry though. I've meant to find something to help with translations. Come on." We headed through the door Sora and Roxas had left by before.

"So, the baka are back." Sora said. They giggled.

"If we are baka, whatever that means, then yes." This made them laugh even more for some reason, even rolling around on the floor some. Xion, Wakka, Kairi and Selphie walked in then, looking at Sora and Roxas in confusion.

"Axel...Axel just...admitted they...they were ba...baka!" Roxas managed to gasp out. Xion joined in with the laughter. The others looked at them unsure.

"Baka means..." She burst into a fit of laughter, then whispered it so we didn't hear. The laughter from the six of them filled the room and lasted a good five minutes.

As it faded I asked them a question. "What is so funny about us being bakas?" This nearly caused more laughter, but Sora collapsed from a lack of air.

"Water..." He gasped. Roxas forced a slim trail of it down his throat, moistening it. Then he dumped an orb of water on top of him. Sora spluttered awake. What the...? Oh, yeah. The baka!" He giggled. Roxas glared at us. We flinched.

"Stop calling yourself that, seeing how that gave Sora oxygen deprivation!" He continued the glare for another few seconds before Sora hugged him. "Also, the plural of baka is baka."

"Arigato, Roxas."

"Anata no kengei, koibito." He replied.

"So, everyone else go down before us." Larxene said, walking in. Marluxia followed her.

"I guess this was where the laughter that woke us came from. So, are we ready to set off?"

"Yep." Xion said. "Me, Kairi, Wakka and Selphie have the maps. We all get one each. Don't loose them." The four handed round the maps, smaller than you'd expect. Otherwise, they were quite nice. I found they still had the scroll and zoom thing the other one had. Anyway, nothing much else happened. We all just said our goodbyes too the six there, Merlin, Yen Sid, Cysero, Belle, Naminé and Megan. The last two of them we found in the area for watching the training sessions, of which two were occupied by people we didn't know. Then we left, heading west.

"East." Axel said.

"What?"

"Don't tell me you don't hear it!"

"Hear what?"

"A voice, telling everything from what you seem to see."

"Right..." Anyway, we headed off eastwards, towards Olympus Colosseum.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the filler. Minor writer's block. Reviews will help to cure me of it! So please do!<strong>

**Anyway, thanks for reading. The Japanese I've written are here:**

**Koibito: Lover.  
>Baka: Idiot.<br>Sayonara: Goodbye.  
>Arigato: Thank you.<br>Anata no kengei: You're welcome.**

**So, Sayonara for now!**


	15. End Note

**Sorry if you thought this was a chapter. I just wanted you guys all to know that I'm turning this story into a series, probably a trilogy, so there will be no more here. Look out for the next instalment, _The Grey King_. That's right, I'm still stealing names from her. **

**Now, something you should know, not all is as it seems.**

**Also, the reason I'm doing this is because I write better at the start of stories. Also, because I've wanted to do a series for ages.**

**Sorry again if you thought this was an actual chapter.**


End file.
